The black Wii U may be available at launch.
Nintendo will share details about Wii U color variations when they finally announce the launch date for the console.
Rich George of IGN tweeted a response given by Nintendo when asked about the availability of a black Wii U at launch. The company commented: "When we announce the launch date, price and specific components to be included in the package, we will also discuss the color variations."
Nintendo has featured the black Wii U console and GamePad alongside the more traditional white in its E3 and Nintendo Direct presentations and the black color variant has also shown up in some early marketing materials for the console. Both would seem to suggest the intention to release the console in both flavors. However, when announcing the Wii (then known as "Revolution") at E3 2005, the console was shown in black before being released exclusively in white in 2006.